While malnutrition deaths in Jajpur district’s Nagada village and elsewhere in the State have been a matter of great concern, a Unicef report has revealed that 45 per cent of children in Odisha are suffering from malnutrition.
The Union Home Ministry has also come out with such a revelation in its annual survey report.
According to the Unicef report, while 45 per cent of children below one year of age in Odisha are suffering from malnutrition, 35 per cent of children in Malkangiri district are malnourished and 57 per cent of tribal children are underfed.
Similarly, the Home Ministry report revealed that 36 per cent of males and equal percengate of children are underfed in the State.
Malkangiri stands ninth among 100 districts of the country in the list of malnutrition. Similarly, Malkangiri stands third position among the list of districts having underweight children. With highest 57.7 per cent of underfed population, Kalahandi stands seventh in the list.
Similarly, in the list of underweight persons in the 18-59 years’ age group, Malkangiri stands third, Nabarangpur fourth and Kalahand fifth.
While there were 289.9 million people affected with malnutrition in India during 2010-12, the number rose to 194.6 million during 2014-16. One among four persons of the world, who go without foods, is an Indian, the report said.